Hi Susan,
Definitely ask your GP for a monitor and ask for the strips on prescription. They seem to refuse Type 2s, but try telling them you want to be pro-active in managing your condition and think it will be a great benefit to you to learn more about how your body reacts to different foods. It's worth a try! I wasn't offered a monitor when first diagnosed, and I had no idea what was happening to my BGs until I got really ill and eventually bought a monitor and found my BGs were in the 20s! Turned out I wasn't Type 2 at all, but as I wasn't monitoring and the GP wasn't monitoring me, there was no warning things were going wrong. Since I started monitoring frequently last September, I've been absolutely shocked by what different foods do - it's the only way to learn and get control. Test before food and two hours after eating - your levels at that time should be pretty much back to their pre-meal level. Make sure you write down what you eat. If the spike is too high or too prolonged, cut the portion next time or avoid the culprit food! Monitoring is absolutely essential, especially at first until you know what yoour body can cope with.
Smidge